Cracked Screen vs. Working: What's the Real Price Gap?

The Drawer Full of 'Broken' Phones Worth More Than You Think

There are an estimated 55 million unused mobile phones sitting in UK homes right now, according to Ofcom. A huge chunk of those are gathering dust precisely because their owners assume a cracked screen or faulty button has wiped out any resale value. Why bother selling something for pennies, right?

Wrong. That assumption is costing people real money.

From the thousands of devices sold through our platform, we see this pattern constantly: someone finally digs out an old iPhone or Samsung, checks a price comparison, and is genuinely shocked at what a faulty device still fetches. The gap between a mint-condition phone and a cracked one is often smaller than you'd expect - and almost always worth acting on.

So let's look at the actual numbers.

How Recyclers Grade 'Faulty' Phones (and Why It Matters)

Before we get into the price comparisons, it helps to understand how recyclers think about damage. Most UK phone recycling companies use a tiered grading system - typically something like Working, Working - Minor Faults and Faulty/Broken. Some split it further into screen damage versus other faults.

A cracked screen usually lands your phone in the Faulty or Broken Screen category. But here's what most people don't realise: recyclers still want these phones. The internals - the processor, the camera module, the battery cells, the rare earth materials - hold value regardless of what the glass looks like.

Thing is, a phone with a cracked screen that still powers on and functions is worth considerably more than one that won't turn on at all. If your screen is spiderwebbed but the phone works, you're in a better position than you think. If it's completely dead, you're still not looking at zero.

Real Price Gaps Across Popular Models Right Now

Let's get specific. We pulled data from our recycler network to show you what the difference actually looks like across some of the most commonly sold devices in the UK. These are live figures from March 2026.

Take the iPhone 12 - still one of the most traded-in handsets we see. A working, unlocked iPhone 12 in good condition can fetch around £90-£110 through our network. A faulty one with a cracked screen? You're typically looking at £40-£60. That's a gap of roughly £40-£50 - not nothing, but it's not the cliff-edge most people imagine.

The Samsung Galaxy S22 tells a similar story. Working condition sits around £80-£100. Cracked screen drops that to around £45-£65. Again, a meaningful gap, but the damaged device is still worth selling.

Move up the range and the numbers get more interesting. A Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra in full working order can command upwards of £400. With a cracked screen, that drops to roughly £200-£250. Yes, that's a steeper drop in absolute terms - but £200+ for a phone you've written off is still a serious amount of cash.

Our data shows that the average faulty smartphone sold through OnRecycle still earns its owner somewhere between 45% and 65% of the equivalent working price. That's not a write-off. That's a result.

When the Gap Gets Wider (and When It Doesn't)

The price gap between working and faulty isn't uniform across all phones. A few factors push it wider or keep it tight.

Age matters a lot. On an older device - say an iPhone X or a Samsung Galaxy S10 - the working price is already fairly low, so a cracked screen doesn't have as far to fall. A working iPhone X might get you £50-£70. A faulty one might still get £25-£35. The percentage drop is similar, but the absolute difference is smaller, making it easier to justify the hassle of selling even a battered old handset.

On premium recent models, the gap in pounds is bigger, but the percentage held is often similar. An iPhone 16 Pro in working condition fetches around £600-£700. With significant screen damage, expect closer to £300-£350. That still puts serious money in your pocket.

Here's the catch with truly dead phones - ones that won't power on, or have water damage on top of a cracked screen. Those attract the lowest offers, sometimes 20-30% of the working price. Still not zero, but the drop is steeper. If your phone is borderline, it's always worth trying to get it working before you get a quote - even if that means a temporary screen repair.

Also worth knowing: an unlocked phone with a cracked screen is almost always worth more than a locked one. Network locks affect recycler bids significantly, sometimes by £20-£40 even on damaged devices.

The Real Cost of Leaving It in the Drawer

Here's where the maths really stings. Phones depreciate fast. We're talking 15-25% value loss per year on most models, according to research from the Mobile Ecosystem Forum. A Samsung Galaxy S23 that was worth £250 faulty eighteen months ago might only fetch £150 today.

Every month a cracked phone sits in your drawer, it's losing value. The components inside age, battery health degrades, and newer models arrive that make recyclers less interested in older stock. The phone you're putting off selling isn't holding its value - it's bleeding it.

We see this all the time with iPhone 11s and Galaxy S21s coming through our platform. Owners waited a year or two, assuming the cracked screen made them unsellable, and ended up getting £30-£40 for a device that would have netted them £80-£90 if they'd sold it sooner.

The e-waste angle is worth thinking about too. The UN estimates that 62 million tonnes of electronic waste were generated globally in 2022 - a figure that's rising every year. A phone in a drawer isn't being recycled. It's just... waiting to become landfill.

Why a Comparison Site Beats Going Direct With a Damaged Phone

This is where it gets practical. If you've got a cracked phone and you approach a single recycler directly, you're at their mercy. You take what they offer or you walk away.

The thing about damaged phones is that different recyclers value them very differently. Some focus on refurbishment and want working handsets, so their faulty prices are low. Others specialise in parts and materials recovery and actively seek out damaged stock - so they bid higher. The difference between the lowest and highest offer for a faulty phone on our platform can be £30-£80 on a single model.

That spread is exactly why using a comparison site like OnRecycle is more valuable for faulty phones than it is for pristine ones. With a mint-condition iPhone, most recyclers are competing in a fairly tight range. With a cracked one, the variance is much wider - and finding the right buyer makes a significant difference.

Our network includes companies like Meelie Mobile, Gadget Reclaim, SellMyPhone.org and Vendi, among dozens of others. Each has different buying priorities. A comparison gets all of them bidding for your device at once, in seconds, for free.

Also: be honest when you describe the damage. Recyclers inspect devices when they arrive, and if the condition doesn't match what was described, they'll revise the offer downward - or send it back entirely. Accurate descriptions upfront mean no nasty surprises and a faster payment.

Should You Repair First or Sell As-Is?

People ask us this one regularly. The answer depends on the numbers.

A screen repair on an iPhone 14 at a reputable shop runs around £100-£150. If that repair bumps your trade-in value from £180 to £280, you've made a net gain of £30-£80. Worth doing. But if the repair costs £150 and only adds £60 to the trade-in, you're better off selling it cracked.

The maths changes by model, repair cost and current recycler prices. Our advice: get a faulty quote first. It takes about 30 seconds on our site. Then get a repair quote locally. Compare the two numbers and make an informed call - rather than assuming one route is obviously better.

For older or lower-value phones, repairs rarely make financial sense. For flagship models less than two years old, it's often worth running the numbers.

The single most useful thing you can do right now? Find that cracked phone, check what it's actually worth today, and stop letting it lose value by the month. You might be surprised what someone's willing to pay for it.

Published by The OnRecycle Team on 5th March 2026